Entire of Itself

...No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee... John Donne (1573-1631)

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

EATING BEANS AND RICE

I started an article on eating 'bean dinners' some time ago, then was a bit startled to receive an emailed inquiry asking 'What are beans and rice?'

We often use 'beans and rice' as a shorthand way of saying 'dinners based on legumes plus grains' (at least, I often use it this way). But it seems that many Americans don't know what bean-based dinners are, or even can be. 'What kind of beans? What grains? What are you talking about?'

Think ethnic: bean burritos, Indian dals and vegetable curries served with rice, Italian pasta fagioli, chili plus cornbread, Middle Eastern falafel in a pita, Louisiana red beans and rice, Cuban black beans and rice - the combinations are almost endless. Even the British 'beans on toast' qualifies, and is good nutrition - if the toast is made from whole-grain bread.

Maybe you want to eat more bean-based dinners in order to live more lightly on the earth. A great deal more resources are required to produce 100 gms of beef protein than to produce 100 grams of bean protein, and a great deal more pollution is produced by the beef too.

Maybe you want to cut your consumption of cholesterol and saturated fat. Beans do not contain any of either.

Maybe you want to 'live simply that others may simply live' and cut your food budget so that you can contribute to the hungry at home or abroad.

Maybe you want to add variety to your meals.

Maybe you want to be able to conveniently store a quantity of food in case of natural disaster or other catastrophe (unemployment, illness, etc.).

Maybe you've decided to be a vegetarian for one reason or another. (While I'm not a vegetarian at the moment, I am a 'fellow traveler' and I can see lots of valid reasons for being a vegetarian.)

Or maybe you just want to learn to cook with beans because they are delicious. Beans are good food.

Legumes (beans and peas) together with whole grains, or with dairy products, make a complete protein: they have all the amino acids that humans need. The grains and beans need not be eaten at the same meal; just in the same day. But most ethnic bean recipes do call for a grain: either they are served on rice or in a pita, or with tortillas, or with corn muffins, or with another grain.

General Advice and Tips and Equivalencies

First of all, I recommend that beginners start with canned beans. Yes, dried and home-cooked beans are cheaper. Yes, home-cooked beans have a nicer texture and taste. However, canned beans are a very good substitute and you can cook with them on the spur of the moment. Dried beans require planning ahead (either the night before or at least an hour or so before) so that you can soak them, and they take a considerable time to cook.

You can vastly improve the taste of canned beans - and get rid of much of their excess sodium - by emptying them into a colander in your sink, draining them and rinsing them very well with cool water. Then let them drain briefly again before use. I recommend that you always do this (even if you must add liquid back to a recipe).

My favorite brand of canned beans is 'Goya' (look in the Hispanic or Mexican foods section of your supermarket). Our supermarket's store-brand beans are good too, and sometimes I can buy a 16-oz can of store-brand beans for 50 cents: we stock up then.

After you've found some bean-based dinner recipes that you enjoy, then maybe you'll want to start cooking dried beans at home. When you do, I recommend using a pressure cooker - you can save lots of time and energy (and energy equals dollars) if you use a pressure cooker. Be sure you get a pressure cooker that is recommended for cooking beans. (Read themanual.) I recommend a stainless steel, 'second generation' pressure cooker (no jiggle top). I have two, they're great.

For lots of information on pressure cookers,see: http://www.missvickie.com Pressure-cookers cut bean cooking time down by approximately 75% (my estimate) and certainly by considerably more than 50%.

By the way, I highly recommend Lorna Sass's book 'Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure' to anyone - vegetarian or otherwise - who is interested in pressure cooking. She has clear directions for cooking every imaginable type of bean and grain, plus terrific recipes.

Dealing with a Potentially Embarrassing Aspect of Beans

Beans, like cabbage, can cause gas problems for many people. If you eat them regularly, your body will adapt and this will cease to be a problem. In the mean time, many people find Beano to be very helpful. See: http://www.beanogas.com/. Beano can be bought at natural food stores and drugstores. I've seen it in some supermarkets too.

Feel Free to Substitute

While all the various types of beans are different - have a different taste and texture - please feel free to substitute one kind of bean for another in recipes. If you don't have pigeon peas, use black-eyed peas. If you don't have either, use black beans. If you're out of kidney beans, use pinto beans. And so on.On the Joy of Not-Measuring and Other Tips

I measure when I cook desserts and baked goods, but nothing else. I'd recommend measuring the first time you make a dinner-type recipe, and then ... freedom is not-measuring. Give it a try: you'll thank me if you can get used to not-measuring. Lots of little cups and spoons that you don'tneed to get out, use, wash, dry, and return to their place!

When you rely on beans-and-grain dinners, you will find that the use of herbs and spices is very valuable. And just how fresh those herbs and spices are (or aren't!) is important. I keep my main supply of spices and herbs in the freezer, and I keep a small supply conveniently at hand in the kitchen.We grow some of our herbs, but aren't able to grow them all, so I buy my other herbs and spices online, from Penzey's, and this makes a difference. Penzey's herbs and spices are as fresh as they come. When you get your spices and herbs fresh in the first place, and keep them frozen, your bean-based dinners are going to have lots of good flavor.

We like our food fairly highly seasoned: I can tell you that I use a lot more herbs and spices than called for in most recipes: a whole lot more, in many cases. But be a little bit careful here. You can always add more chili powder, for example, but you cannot remove it once it's in the dish. Taste and taste again as you cook.

I do not cook with salt, not ever. (We add it at the table if we want it.) I use tamari instead. Tamari is a superior kind of soy sauce, available in natural food stores and many supermarkets. To me, it has less of a salty (and chemical-ish) taste and more depth of flavor than regular soy sauce. If you don't have tamari, you can use regular soy sauce or you can add salt to the recipe. (If you do cook with salt, of course feel free to add it. But tamari is salty, so if you use tamari, please taste before adding salt too.)Equivalencies - Canned to Home-Cooked Beans

'Lean Bean Cuisine' by Jay Solomon. Many great recipes. With this book and some beans, you'll never be at a loss for something to make for dinner.

'Extending the Table' by Joetta Handrich Schlabach. One of the Mennonite World Community Cookbooks. Lots of international recipes, many containing beans and grains.

'Easy Beans' by Trish Ross. Says 'fast and delicious bean, pea, and lentil recipes'. I haven't made any of the recipes from this book, but they read well; I think they would be good for the most part. And very easy.

'Country Beans' by Rita Bingham. For the 'advanced bean practitioner'. Contains directions and recipes for grinding beans into bean flour and using them in this way (soups, sauces); also directions and recipes for canning various soups and soup mixes. Badly edited, confusing recipes, some missing ingredients, but the ideas are good. And much of the information covered is not covered anywhere else that I know of.

RECIPES

Indian Beans and Rice Dinner

This is one of my favorite bean dinners. I make no claims as to its authenticity; I just know it's very good food. If I couldn't find pigeon peas (also called 'gandules' in Spanish), I would use all black-eyed peas. If I couldn't find them, I'd use black beans. I serve this with some plain yogurton top, or with a raita (Indian-style yogurt salad) on the side. Yum. :)